


Santa Buddy

by melofors



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M, jongdae is a strange weirdo manchild, junmyeon is santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 21:53:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17170103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melofors/pseuds/melofors
Summary: junmyeon just wants his first christmas as santa to be a nice, smooth-sailing one. but jongdae is not going to let that happen.





	Santa Buddy

**Author's Note:**

> christmas is already over. in fact, boxing day is also almost over too. but here's a christmas story.

“Chanyeol, I swear to god, if you kick Sehun one more time, I’m going to send you back to the elves. Yes, I’m being serious,” Junmyeon hissed at his reindeer. Chanyeol whined and looked at him sadly. “Don’t you give me those eyes,” Junmyeon threatened, tossing his bag down the chimney. “They’re not going to work today.”

 

He checked his watch as he jumped in after his bag. He was now four minutes behind schedule, which was certainly not ideal. He only had one minute to go down the chimney, fill the stockings, deliver the presents, take one bite of a cookie and get out or face disastrous consequences.

 

His father never told him what would happen if a human happened to see him on Christmas. It hadn’t happened to any Santas in the past century and Junmyeon was not keen on being the first one to break the streak his very first year.

 

Junmyeon was pleased to find that the chimney was not boarded off as it had been with most of the other houses he’d been to tonight. Smiling to himself, he pulled out his list and skimmed through it. Two brothers, one was getting a stocking full of coal and the other a stocking full of dog treats _._ He immediately began pulling the goodies out of his bag and stuffing the two stockings hanging above the fireplace. Then he ran to the Christmas tree and laid a neatly wrapped present labelled ‘ _to: Jongin_ ’ underneath it. Just as he was taking a bite of the Christmas cookie on the dining table, he heard a squeak behind him.

 

“Don’t move,” a shaking voice whispered, “I’m armed.”

 

Great. Just great. Of course this would happen to him. He lifted his hands up and slowly turned around to face the human. It was a man holding an iron.

 

“Uh, hi,” he said with a nervous laugh. “Must’ve walked into the wrong house, sorry. I’ll just be on my way now. Bye.”

 

He turned around to leave but the human yelled, “Wait! I said don’t move!”

 

Junmyeon froze. He could just leave, this human wouldn’t be able to cause him any real damage with an iron. But he didn’t know if he was allowed to leave witnesses. Then again, this human didn’t know he was Santa. He just thought Junmyeon was a robber and by the time the police would get to the house, Junmyeon would be long gone.

 

“You’re kinda hot for a robber,” the human said, eyeing him up and down. “What were you trying to steal anyway?”

 

“Um, eggs,” Junmyeon said. Quick thinking was not his strong point.

 

The human raised an eyebrow. “Eggs, huh?” He lowered his iron. “If I give you a carton, will you be on your way?”

 

“Yes!” Junmyeon couldn’t believe his lie worked. Maybe quick thinking was his strong point.

 

“Alright, don’t move,” the human said, walking backwards into his kitchen. He didn’t take his eyes off Junmyeon the entire time he felt around his fridge for eggs. Junmyeon was relieved he wouldn’t have to run away but this was still taking a very long time. He must be over ten minutes late by now.

 

“Aha!” the human pulled a carton of eggs out. “I’ll give you these now,” he extended the eggs to Junmyeon but as soon as Junmyeon reached for them, he snatched them away. “If you give me fifty bucks.”

 

“Excuse me?” Junmyeon was taken aback.

 

“Look, dude, it’s a pretty sweet offer. You get a carton of eggs and I won’t rat you out to the police.”

 

Junmyeon was hoping it wouldn’t come to this but it looked like he would have to run away. He gave the human one last look before grabbing his bag and zooming out the chimney.

 

“Come on, Yixing,” he told his lead reindeer as soon as he got on the roof. “We’ve got to be quick.”

 

“Whoa! Are those reindeer?”

 

Junmyeon froze. He turned around to see the human from downstairs clutching onto the back of Junmyeon’s bag.

 

“Are you Santa or something?” the human stared at him. “This whole time I thought you were stealing from us but you were actually giving us presents instead. Sorry, man.”

 

This wasn’t happening. He didn’t just reveal himself to a human. Junmyeon was standing with his hands on his knees, about to start hyperventilating when the human gave him a small pat on the back.

 

“Don’t worry, Santa,” he said. “I won’t tell anyone.”

 

Junmyeon looked up at him, eyes narrowed.

 

“If you let me join you.”

 

He knew there had to be a catch. What an annoying human. No wonder he was getting nothing but a stocking full of coal for Christmas.

 

Junmyeon sighed. He very much would have liked to tell the human to get lost but that wouldn’t be very Father Christmas-y of him. And he didn’t have time to argue. “Alright, get in.”

  
  
  
  


Now that he was 15 minutes behind schedule, Junmyeon had to come up with a plan to make sure no other humans would be able to see him. Maybe he would be able to use the annoying one that was talking nonstop next to him as a distraction.

 

“Human,” Junmyeon said, interrupting the human’s excited questioning. “Do you think you can help me?”

 

“First of all, my name is Jongdae, so please address me as such. And second of all, of course! I can’t wait to help Santa Claus save Christmas.”

 

Junmyeon had a feeling he was digging himself into an even bigger hole. “I’m 15 minutes behind schedule, so the other humans will be able to run into me,” he explained. “Would you be able to distract them while I do my duties?”

 

“No problemo,” Jongdae said. “How do you want me to do it?”

 

“Do whatever you want,” Junmyeon said as he parked his reindeer on top of a large house. “Just make sure they don’t see me.”

 

They both jumped off the sleigh. “Their tree is in the living room downstairs, so try and keep them upstairs,” he said, grabbing Jongdae’s arms and hopping down the chimney.

 

“I will never get over that,” Jongdae whispered when they jumped out the fireplace. “Going down is so much more fun than going up. Can I only do it when I’m holding you or your bag? Because I tried jumping down a chimney once when I was in high school and, let’s just say, it didn’t end with me gracefully popping out of a fireplace.”

 

“Will you please be quiet,” Junmyeon hissed. “Go stand guard upstairs. They’re all asleep so don’t do anything unless one of them wakes up.”

 

Junmyeon pulled out his paper and quickly scanned it. Three kids, two parents. No coal. Easy. He was done in three minutes.

 

“Jongdae,” he whispered, beckoning the human, “let’s leave.”

  
  
  
  


Junmyeon hated to admit it but Jongdae was actually quite helpful, even if he was annoying. He quietly stood guard in houses where everyone was asleep and created effective distractions when necessary.

 

“Hello, sir, do you have some time to talk about our lord and saviour Jesus Christ?” Junmyeon heard Jongdae say from the front door as he hastily put presents under the Christmas tree in the kitchen.

 

“What the hell is wrong with you? It’s 1 o'clock in the morning!”

 

“Just trying to spread some Christmas spirit, old man. It’s not like you were doing anything important anyway. How are the Friends reruns?”

 

Junmyeon groaned. He quickly took a bite of the cookie on the counter and got a mouthful of raisin. Trying not to gag, he ran into the living room. The large man at the door’s back was to him.

 

“Would you like to hear a Christmas carol?” Jongdae said loudly as Junmyeon filled the stockings.

 

“No. Now, get out of here and leave me alone!”

 

Junmyeon was running out of time. One stocking to go.

 

“Please, sir! Silent night! Holy night!”

 

Done. Junmyeon zoomed up and out of the fireplace just as the man slammed the door in Jongdae’s face. He was checking his list when Jongdae scrambled up the roof, breathing heavily.

 

“Thanks for ditching me down there, man,” he panted.

 

“You’re welcome,” Junmyeon said absentmindedly. “If we finish the next house in three minutes, we’ll be back on track. They only have two stockings and three presents, so I think we can do it.”

 

“Does that list tell you who’s naughty and nice?” Jongdae asked as they got on the sleigh.

 

“Yeah, and how many people live in one house and who gets which presents. It’s very important.”

 

“So you don’t see us when we’re sleeping and know when we’re awake?”

 

Junmyeon frowned. “I can but human watching is a pretty taxing job, so I make the elves do it.”

 

“Yeah, that sure makes it better,” Jongdae said.

 

“It really does,” Junmyeon smiled. “I’m glad you get it, my father thinks I’m being a pansy.”

 

“I was being sarcastic,” Jongdae said. “I think it’s kind of fucked up that you constantly spy on humans.”

 

“What are you talking about? How else would we know what gifts to give all of you?”

 

“I don’t know? Ask around?” Jongdae shrugged. “I just think it’s creepy that there’s some tiny Irish man watching every move I make.”

 

“Elves,” Junmyeon said. “Not leprechauns.”

 

“My point still stands.”

 

Before Junmyeon could defend the ways of the North Pole, Jongdae gasped. “Is that the house we’re going to?”

 

“Yes,” Junmyeon said, following Jongdae’s finger. “Why?”

 

“It’s like a mansion,” Jongdae said, staring in awe. “I can’t believe I’m going to set foot in a mansion.”

 

Junmyeon didn’t like the look on his face. “Please don’t do anything inappropriate,” he said, warily. 

 

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

 

With all the residents asleep, Jongdae was once again on lookout duty. Junmyeon was also looking out for Jongdae because he didn’t know what the human was planning on doing. He didn’t like the glint he’d seen in Jongdae’s eye before they had jumped. But Jongdae didn’t do anything suspicious. Junmyeon kept glancing at him every few seconds and every time, he was just gazing around, mouth slightly open, at all the fancy decorations.

 

After Junmyeon took a few more bites than he usually did of the cookies left out for him, he called out for Jongdae, who didn’t respond. Feeling uneasy, Junmyeon looked around the giant house. They had to leave as soon as possible.

 

“Jongdae?” he whispered, turning a corner and almost running into an old lady. Heart hammering against his chest, he backed away as quietly as he could.

 

“Boo!” someone whispered behind him.

 

It was probably a good thing Jongdae put his hand over Junmyeon’s mouth because Junmyeon most definitely would have woken up the whole house with his scream of terror.

 

“Jeez, calm down, man,” Jongdae laughed. “It’s just me.”

 

Junmyeon didn’t have time to berate him. The old lady might have heard something. He grabbed Jongdae’s wrist and ran back to the giant marble fireplace in the living room. He tightened his grip on Jongdae and flew them out.

 

As soon as they were back on the roof, Junmyeon collapsed.

 

“Whoa, man,” Jongdae bent down to look at him. “You okay?”

 

“I almost had two heart attacks in the span of one minute,” Junmyeon said. “I am not okay.”

 

“And here I was thinking I was the dramatic one,” Jongdae laughed.

 

“Stop laughing,” Junmyeon snapped, getting up. “Where did you run off to? I almost got caught looking for you!”

 

“I was just doing a bit of exploring,” Jongdae said innocently. “It’s not everyday you get to wander around the halls of a billion dollar house.”

 

Junmyeon narrowed his eyes. “I don’t believe you.”

 

“Why would I be--Hey!” Jongdae shrieked as Junmyeon began patting his pockets. “What are you doing?” he cried. “If you wanted to feel me up, you could’ve just asked!”

 

“Aha!” Junmyeon said, pulling a spoon out of Jongdae’s back pocket. “I knew it!”

 

“Oh, wow,” Jongdae laughed uncomfortably. “How did that get there?”

 

“If you’re going to be stealing,” Junmyeon said, walking back to the chimney, “I’m going to have to leave you on the sleigh.”

 

Jongdae pouted at him. “It was just a spoon.”

 

“A solid gold spoon.” Junmyeon threw the utensil back down the chimney and checked his watch.

 

“Great,” he sighed. “Thanks to your little charade, we’re still a little late. I think you really should stay in the sleigh from now on.”

 

“No!” Jongdae cried. “Don’t you need someone on lookout duty?”

 

Junmyeon shook his head, “Not really. We’re only two minutes behind, I can manage the next house in three minutes.”

 

“What does that even mean?” Jongdae said. “You never explain anything! How can I be a good Santa’s Sexy Helper if I don’t even know what’s going on?”

 

“It’s Santa’s Little Helper.”

 

“Why do you need to do it in three minutes?”

 

Junmyeon sighed. “Because every house has a five minute spell cast on it that ensures no humans come in contact with Santa. If I arrive at the house before or after that five minute threshold, there’s a possibility a human will see me. That’s why it is essential we stay on schedule. So we can get to the houses while the five minute spell is in action,” he explained.

 

“Were you late to my house?” Jongdae asked. “Is that why I saw you?”

 

Junmyeon nodded.

 

“Why were you late?”

 

“Because Chanyeol and Sehun got into a fight,” Junmyeon said. “Any more questions?”

 

“Yes,” Jongdae said. “Why do your reindeer have such weird names? What happened to Comet and Cupid and Dancer and Prancer and Rudolph?”

 

“Rudolph doesn’t exist,” Junmyeon said. “He’s a made up fictional reindeer. And these guys are Dancer and Prancer and all those reindeer. Every Santa just changes their names if they don’t like them.”

 

Jongdae nodded. “By every Santa you mean are there more of you?”

 

“Well, no, I’m currently the only one. But my father was Santa before me and his was before him. It’s sort of a family tradition,” Junmyeon explained.

 

“Well that certainly explains why you’re not a fat, old, white man then,” Jongdae laughed.

 

By the time they got to their next stop, Jongdae had convinced Junmyeon to let him accompany him. All he had to say was “Do you really want to leave me entirely unsupervised with all your reindeer on a random roof?” and Junmyeon was pulling him down the chimney.

 

“Alrighty, you have five stockings and, holy shit, ten presents,” Jongdae read out loud. “Better hurry up, old man.”

 

“Excuse me, I am not old,” Junmyeon said, stuffing a toy dinosaur inside a stocking.

 

“How old are you anyway?” Jongdae asked. “Oh yeah, the purple one has coal.”

 

“27,” Junmyeon took a candy bar out of the purple stocking and put a lump of coal in it instead.

 

“No way! A 27 year old Santa? That’s crazy!”

 

“Yeah, I think I’m the youngest Santa ever,” Junmyeon said, looking around, “Usually the son becomes Santa after the old one dies but my father decided to retire.”

 

“What if he only has a daughter?” Jongdae asked.

 

“Then she becomes Santa,” Junmyeon fished out a few presents from his bag. “That’s only happened once, though, with my grandmother.” He checked his watched. “Hey, could you take a bite out of a cookie for me? I’m worried I won’t have time.”

 

“Can I really?” Jongdae asked, excitedly.

 

Junmyeon heard him run into the kitchen. A few minutes later, he walked back outside with a plate full of cookies and glass of milk.

 

“So, how many years have you been Santa?” Jongdae sat down next to Junmyeon.

 

Junmyeon sighed, “This is my first.”

 

“First year and you’ve already found yourself an assistant,” Jongdae laughed. “Impressive.”

 

“Yeah,” Junmyeon was trying to neatly arrange all the presents.

 

“Hey, Santa?” Jongdae waved a cookie in his face. “Why do you only take one bite out of all the cookies? Watching your figure, are you? You’re doing a pretty good job, I have to say. I’ve also been watching it all night.”

 

Ignoring the last part, Junmyeon said, “I don’t have time to eat every single cookie put out for me but I like to make sure the kids know I tried them. Now, put that down, it’s time to go.”

 

“What if they think you took one bite, hated their cookie, and couldn’t finish the rest?”

 

“Please, Jongdae,” Junmyeon groaned, grabbing the human’s hand, “Don’t give me more things to worry about.”

 

When they were back on the roof, Jongdae smiled at him. “You know,” he said, “that’s really nice of you, making sure every kid knows you visited them and tried their cookies even if it means an extra day at the gym.”

 

“Thanks,” Junmyeon mumbled.

 

“So, are we finally on track, Santa Buddy?” Jongdae asked, putting an arm around Junmyeon.

 

Junmyeon checked his watch and frowned. “Well, we’re still 30 seconds behind but we’re doing pretty well.”

 

“Then, let’s get a move on!” Jongdae pushed him into the sleigh. “Come on, old man. Time’s a-wastin’!”

  
  
  
  


From then on, Jongdae became in charge of the list and the cookies. They formed a pretty good team; Jongdae listed off the contents of each of the stockings and told Junmyeon which presents to look for while scarfing down cookies and Junmyeon quickly filled up stockings and arranged presents without having to check his list every few seconds.

 

“These people have three kids but only bought presents for one,” Jongdae said, looking at the presents under the Christmas tree. “They must be such asshole parents.”

 

“Maybe the other two are naughty children,” Junmyeon said. “Besides, I have presents for all of them.”

 

“The favorite one still gets more.”

 

“It’s not your job to criticize these people’s parenting, Jongdae,” Junmyeon sighs. “Have you had a cookie? It’s time to leave.”

 

“It was the first thing I did, old man,” Jongdae winks. “Let’s go.”

 

“I would appreciate it,” Junmyeon sighed, “if you would not call me old man.”

 

“It’s just a little weird calling you Santa, you know? I always imagined him as some old, wrinkly dude.”

 

Junmyeon blinked at him. “You don’t want to call me Santa because Santa is an old man, but you have no problem with actually calling me old man?”

 

“Well, Santa is also an anagram for Satan, so that’s a bit creepy,” Jongdae shrugged.

 

“Just call me Junmyeon, then,” Junmyeon grabbed his hand and jumped up the fireplace.

 

“Junmyeon?” Jongdae asked, following him in the sleigh. “Why Junmyeon?”

 

“Because it’s my name?”

 

“Hold on!” Jongdae grabbed Junmyeon’s arm, preventing him from steering.

 

“What are you doing!” Junmyeon yelled.

 

“Your name isn’t Santa?” Jongdae yelled back.

 

“No! Of course not!” Junmyeon wrenched his arm out of Jongdae’s grip and continued flying the sleigh. “Wouldn’t that be confusing, if everyone in my family was named Santa?”

 

“I guess you’re right,” Jongdae said. “I’m learning so much more tonight then I ever learned at school.”

 

“Well, I doubt your school would teach you about the North Pole,” Junmyeon laughed. “Unlikes ours which had a class just for Myths and Legends.”

 

“Legends of the North Pole?” Jongdae said, wide eyed. “Like what?”

 

Junmyeon had grown up hearing stories of the friendly Yeti who had given the first Santa his magical sleigh and the narwhals that had defended the North Pole from evil humans. But Jongdae had never heard any of those stories before. It amused Junmyeon how much the stories he now found boring and overtold seemed to amaze Jongdae.

 

“Wait, so you’re telling me?” Jongdae said, stuffing a whole cookie into his mouth. “Frosty the Snowman is actually based on Frostbite the Snow-Serial Killer?”

 

“Yeah,” Junmyeon nodded. “And guess what?”

 

“What!”

 

“He’s still alive!”

 

“What the fuck! No way!” Jongdae gasped. “He must be a million years old!”

 

“Yeah, but since he’s a snowman, he can’t really die unless he melts and he never leaves the North Pole!” Junmyeon told him.

 

“Excuse me,” a voice came from behind them. “Who are you?”

 

Junmyeon’s heart stopped. He had completely lost track of time. Standing on the stairs, staring down at them and looking quite confused, was a little boy.

 

“Uh,” Junmyeon opened and closed his mouth. He had no idea what to do.

 

“Yo, I got this,” Jongdae whispered, walking towards the boy. “That’s Santa Claus and I’m his favorite elf!” he said cheerfully. “Who are you?”

 

The boy looked from Jongdae to Junmyeon then back. “I’m Jaehyun.”

 

“Nice to meet you, Jaehyun,” Jongdae stuck his hand through the baluster of the stairs for Jaehyun to shake, which he reluctantly did. “Santa and I were just going to leave some presents for you under your really cool Christmas tree!”

 

Jaehyun looked at Junmyeon again and then leaned down to whisper something in Jongdae’s ear. Junmyeon was sweating.

 

“Ah, yeah,” Jongdae whispered back, loudly enough for Junmyeon to hear. “It is him, he just went on a diet, cut off his hair and bought some hair dye.”

 

Jaehyun nodded understandingly before finally smiling at Junmyeon. “Hi, Santa,” he said, shyly.

 

“Hi, Jaehyun!” Junmyeon said, putting on his friendliest voice. “How are you today?”

 

“I’m good, I just wanted to go to the bathroom. Can I open my present?”

 

Junmyeon looked at Jongdae, who seemed to understand his unspoken cry for help and jumped in.

 

“Actually, no one can open Santa’s presents before Christmas morning,” he said. “It’s a rule. Another rule is, you can’t tell your parents you met Santa tonight, or your present will disappear from under the tree!”

 

Jaehyun gasped. “I won’t tell them!” he cried.

 

“Good boy,” Jongdae smiled at him. “Now hurry on into your room, Santa has to leave now.”

 

Jaehyun hesitated. “Santa?” he said.

 

“Yes?” Junmyeon croaked.

 

“Can I have a hug?”

 

Junmyeon breathed a sigh of relief. “Of course!” he said, opening his arms for the little boy to jump into. Junmyeon got the wind knocked out of him but Jaehyun happily went off to his room afterwards, so it was all worth it.

 

As soon as he heard the door close, Junmyeon grabbed Jongdae’s hand, taking the human by surprise. “Come on, we have to get out of here!”

 

They ran to the fireplace, hopped onto the roof, climbed into the sleigh and took off before Junmyeon even had time to think about what had just happened.

 

“That was a cute kid,” Jongdae started laughing next to him. “We’re lucky he woke up and not his teenage brother. That would’ve been hard to get out of.”

 

“You were really good back there,” Junmyeon said. “I can’t believe I completely froze.”

 

“Nah, you were good too,” Jongdae said. “That hug was the cutest shit I’ve ever seen.”

 

“No, Jongdae, I’m serious,” Junmyeon looked at Jongdae. “You saved us.”

 

Jongdae smiled at him. “Chill, Junmyeon. I was just helping you out. Now, get us to the next house fast, aren’t we behind schedule again.”

 

“Yes,” Junmyeon sighed. “But thankfully, we only have a dozen more houses to go.”

 

“That’s still another hour, isn’t it?” Jongdae said. “Let me see how many presents we’ll have to deliver.”

 

Junmyeon waited for Jongdae to start reciting but the human stayed suspiciously quiet.

 

“Jongdae?” he said.

 

“Don’t be mad.”

 

“Oh, god. What did you do?” Junmyeon wasn’t sure he wanted to hear it.

 

“I may have left the list at Jaehyun’s house.”

 

For the first time in his life, Junmyeon swore. “What the fuck, Jongdae! I told you how important that list is!”

 

“I’m sorry!” Jongdae whined. “You’re the one who pulled me up the chimney without giving me time to think!”

 

“Yixing,” Junmyeon angrily yelled at his reindeer. “Go back!”

 

The sleigh spun around, almost launching Jongdae off of it, and soared back towards the house they’d just left. Junmyeon was so angry at Jongdae, he didn’t want to even look at the human. But he could feel the human’s gaze on him.

 

“What?” he snapped at Jongdae, who was smiling.

 

“You’re hot when you’re angry.”

 

“You say I’m hot all the time!” Junmyeon yelled.

 

“Well, I’m not lying!” Jongdae was also yelling now. “You’re also cute when you swear,” he added.

 

Junmyeon glared at him. “How do you go from being actual good company to such an intolerable nuisance so easily?”

 

“You think I’m good company?” Jongdae said, putting a hand over his chest. “Thanks, Junmyeon.”

 

Junmyeon shook his head and ignored the human the rest of the way. As soon as they landed on the roof, he jumped out and pointed a finger at Jongdae. “You,” he said sternly, “grab the paper and run back to me as fast as you can without making a single sound.”

 

Jongdae nodded and together they jumped down the chimney. Everyone was still asleep, much to Junmyeon’s relief. He stood by the fireplace as Jongdae tiptoed over to the dining table, where the list was sitting next to an almost empty plate of cookies. Jongdae grabbed the list, paused, grabbed a cookie, and then hurried over to Junmyeon, who grabbed him and immediately jumped into the fireplace.

 

As soon as they got out, Junmyeon sighed. He wasn’t expecting to pull that off so quickly.

 

“Wow, Santa,” Jongdae said through a mouthful of cookie. “I think you’ve grown pretty fond of me, haven’t you?”

 

“What?”

 

Jongdae smirked and then only did Junmyeon realize how close he was to the human. He was holding Jongdae by the waist, their chests almost touching. Immediately letting go and taking a few steps back, Junmyeon cleared his throat. “Come on, let’s go.”

 

“First the groping, then the hand holding, now this?” Jongdae teased. “I think you have the hots for me too, Junmyeon.”

 

“Shut up and get in,” Junmyeon grumbled.

  
  
  
  


For the next few houses, Junmyeon noticed, Jongdae tried to be as helpful as possible. He was still annoying, but he was also being less infuriating. Junmyeon suspecting he was trying to go back to being good company and, much to Junmyeon’s dismay, it was actually working.

 

With Jongdae being so helpful, they got back on track way faster than Junmyeon had imagined.

 

“Can I please be in charge of the list again,” Jongdae asked as they landed on a roof that had Santa and reindeer lights covering half of it.

 

Junmyeon looked at him pouting and decided to just put the human out of his misery. “Alright, fine,” he handed the paper to Jongdae. “But if you lose it again, I’m going to set Frostbite on you.”

 

Jongdae laughed, taking the list from Junmyeon and putting his arm around him as they jumped inside.

 

“Are there many people in the North Pole?” Jongdae asked as they worked.

 

“Not many,” Junmyeon said. “Our village only has about 200 people, but no actual humans like you live close to the workshop.”

 

“The workshop?” Jongdae said. “As in Santa’s workshop?”

 

Junmyeon nodded.

 

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Jongdae laughed. “Santa’s workshop is real?”

 

“Of course,” Junmyeon snorted. “Where do you think all these presents come from?”

 

“You make all your presents in the North Pole?”

 

“That’s the one thing the human stories got right about us,” Junmyeon frowned. “And you didn’t know?”

 

“I just assumed that was made up too!” Jongdae exclaimed. “So, do all the elves make the toys?”

 

“Yes, and my family and I help,” Junmyeon told him. “It’s what we do the rest of the year.”

 

“So, as soon as one Christmas is over, you start preparing for the next?”

 

“Pretty much.”

 

“Huh,” Jongdae looked impressed.

 

“Okay, let’s go,” Junmyeon said, extending a hand. Jongdae grabbed it and they zoomed out the chimney.

 

Jongdae kept asking Junmyeon questions about the North Pole. Junmyeon was more than happy to answer all of them. Just like with the legends and stories, Jongdae was amazed by everything Junmyeon told him, which thoroughly amused Junmyeon.

  
  
  
  


“Okay, last house,” Jongdae said as he hopped out of the fireplace and into a small living room. “Let’s make this count.”

 

They walked together to the hallway, where a tiny Christmas tree was sitting, waiting to be surrounded by presents.

 

“So,” Jongdae continued his questioning. “Does your whole family live with you?”

 

“Yeah,” Junmyeon said. “It’s a tradition for all past, present, and future Santas to live together within one household.”

 

“Wow, it must get crowded in there.”

 

“Not really,” Junmyeon shrugged. “It’s just me, my mom, my dad and my grandfather.”

 

“So no Mrs. Claus?” Jongdae asked with a smirk.

 

Junmyeon frowned. “Didn’t I already mention her?”

 

“No?” Jongdae said, his smile fading. “Wait, really? There’s a Mrs. Claus?”

 

Junmyeon nodded. “Why do you sound so surprised?” he laughed.

 

“I just,” Jongdae spluttered. “What would she say about all the groping and flirting?”

 

“Why would I tell her about that?” Junmyeon thought Jongdae was acting weird.

 

“Wow, Santa’s wild,” Jongdae muttered to himself. “Well, I’ll stop now. I don’t want to break up any homes or anything.”

 

Junmyeon was about to ask Jongdae what he was talking about when his watch started beeping. “It’s time!” he said, grabbing Jongdae’s hand. Jongdae tried to pull it away but Junmyeon tightened his grip and jumped into the fireplace.

 

“We did it!” he yelled as soon as they were outside. “We did every house and didn’t get into any major trouble!” He gave Jongdae a large hug, which the human reciprocated for two seconds before pushing him off.

 

“Are you okay?” Junmyeon frowned.

 

“Yeah,” Jongdae nodded, smiling again. “Where are we off to now?”

 

Junmyeon thought for a second. He had been waiting all night for this moment. He would be able to drop Jongdae home, say goodbye, and never have to see the human again. But now that the time had come, he didn’t want to part ways just yet.

 

“Want to come see my workshop?” he asked.

 

Jongdae’s face lit up. “Are you serious?” he said.

 

Before Junmyeon could even say yes, he was already hopping in the sleigh, telling the reindeer to take him to the North Pole.

 

“They’ll only listen to me,” Junmyeon laughed, getting in. Yixing waited for Junmyeon to sit down securely before taking off.

  
  
  
  


Junmyeon wasn’t sure what his parents would say. To his knowledge, no Santa had ever brought a human companion with them to the workshop. In fact, he didn’t think any humans had ever entered his village before. One night with Jongdae and he was already breaking a dozen rules.

 

“Is that it!” Jongdae gasped. The workshop was standing at the top of the hill, overlooking the village.

 

“Yep, that’s my workshop,” Junmyeon beamed.

 

As soon as they landed in front of the workshop doors, three elves came running out. “Junmyeon!” one of them cried. “You’re back! Glad to see you’re alive.”

 

“Thanks, Baekhyun,” Junmyeon said. He greeted all the elves and said goodbye to all the reindeer before leading Jongdae inside. “They must be waiting for us upstairs,” he told him.

 

“Is Mrs. Claus there?” Jongdae asked as Junmyeon dragged him up a spiral staircase.

 

“Probably,” Junmyeon said. He was right. All his friends and family were waiting to welcome him back from his first Christmas as Santa.

 

“Welcome back!” they yelled as Junmyeon and Jongdae made it to the top of the staircase.

 

“Jeez, which one is she,” Jongdae mumbled.

 

“There she is,” Junmyeon smiled at his mother, who was coming towards them with a large Christmas Tree shaped cake in her hands.

 

“Damn,” Jongdae huffed in his ear. “You should’ve told me you like them older, Junmyeon. I wouldn’t have even tried.”

 

Junmyeon had no idea what Jongdae was talking about but he didn’t get to ask with his mother yelling, “Welcome home, darling!”

 

“Thank you, mother!” he said, taking the cake off her hands. Jongdae started coughing behind him. “Uh,” Junmyeon nodded towards him. “This is Jongdae, he helped me out tonight. It’s a bit of a long story. Jongdae, this is my mother.”

 

“Pleasure, Mrs. Claus” Jongdae choked out, shaking Junmyeon’s mother’s hand.

 

To Junmyeon’s surprise, no one was seemed to care that he had brought Jongdae along with him. Everyone just wanted to hear about their night. Jongdae, being as talkative as he was, did most of the storytelling, which Junmyeon was grateful for. He made their adventure sound a lot more impressive and a lot less stressful than it really was.

 

After everyone had gotten their fill of the story, and Jongdae had gotten his fill of the cake, Junmyeon dragged him off to show him around the workshop. Jongdae looked around in awe as Junmyeon showed him how everything worked and even made a small teddy bear for him.

 

“Jongin will love this,” Jongdae said, smiling at it.

 

Junmyeon frowned. That reminded him he was going to have to drop Jongdae back home soon.

 

“Oh, yeah!” Jongdae suddenly said, turning to Junmyeon. “Why didn’t you tell me Mrs. Claus was your mom?”

 

“Didn’t you already know that?”

 

“No!” Jongdae said. “That why I stopped hitting on you! I thought you were a married man with very skewed morals.”

 

“Married?” Junmyeon laughed. “No!”

 

“So you’re not married or seeing anyone?” Jongdae asked.

 

“No.”

 

“Okay, good. I can continue my flirting.”

  
  
  
  


Throughout the ride to Jongdae’s apartment, the human kept talking about how much fun he had and how it was the best Christmas ever. Junmyeon couldn’t help but agree.

 

“This is where we first met!” Jongdae laughed when they jumped out of his fireplace. “I can’t believe I thought you were robbing me. As if I have anything anyone would want to take.”

 

“Here,” Junmyeon said, pulling a gift out of his bag. “You weren’t supposed to get anything but coal this year but I just thought you deserved a present. For helping me out so much.”

 

“Cool! What is it?” Jongdae said, tearing open the wrapping paper. “I hope it’s a date with Santa,” he winked.

 

Junmyeon rolled his eyes and waited for Jongdae to finish unwrapping the present.

 

“Myths and Legends,” he read aloud. “Oh wait, are these North Pole legends? Fuck, I’m so going to read this tonight!”

 

Junmyeon smiled at the look of excitement on Jongdae’s face.

 

“Thanks for coming along with me today. You were very annoying at time but also really helpful,” Junmyeon said.

 

“Are you kidding me?” Jongdae said. “I got to travel around on a sleigh with Santa Claus and I got to visit the North Pole! I should be the one thanking you!”

 

“I guess it was a win-win for both of us,” Junmyeon said.

 

“Call me if you ever need a little helper again,” Jongdae told him.

 

“Santa’s Sexy Helper,” Junmyeon laughed.

 

“So you admit it!”

 

“I’m not admitting anything,” Junmyeo said, still laughing.

 

“You don’t have to,” Jongdae said. “I already know it’s true.”

 

“Goodbye, Jongdae,” Junmyeon said. “Maybe we’ll meet again one day.”

 

“Goodbye, Santa,” Jongdae blew him a kiss before he disappeared up the chimney.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> ho ho ho
> 
> happy holidays~


End file.
